Thorns on a Rose
by Fatal Melody
Summary: Ruby Rose may seem like an energetic ball of sunshine, but beneath that boundless optimism is a troubled past. When Weiss finds Ruby alone one day, she must realize that even the sweetest rose will have its thorns. Rated T for swearing, Dark themes, self-harm, and blood. WhiteRose with eventual Bumbleby undertones.
1. Behind the Mask

Thorns on a Rose

By Fatal Melody

 **A/N:** Hey guys! So, if you read the announcement at the end of Toothache, you'll know that I'm going through a little thing called depression. No cause for alarm, as it's been a couple of months since I realized it, and I've taken a few steps towards getting through it.

I'm happy to say that I've noticed myself getting a bit better.

I'm not getting sad for no reason anymore, and everything is starting to get a bit more color back to it. Hopefully this continues to happen.

Anyway, it's been a while since I wrote anything, besides my really quick one-shot that I posted for Soul Eater, and so I wanted to write another RWBY WhiteRose thing.

It may be WhiteRose, but it won't be my usual fluff. This one's a bit more serious, and I'm writing it so I can vent a bit.  
This one is going to have some of my own personal experiences with depression. Please recognize that this doesn't mean that everything I've written here is something I've done or gone through.

Anyway, this is going to be multichapter, and if I do this the way I want it to go, it will be a bit longer than Toothache.

I hope you all enjoy!

PS: Noticed a few typos so I went back and fixed them!

* * *

" _Depression, suffering and anger are all part of being human."_

 _-_ Janet Fitch

* * *

Thorns on a Rose

Chapter 1: Behind the mask

 **Trigger warning: Self-harm**

* * *

Weiss Schnee entered her dorm room. Nobody else was there, just as she had planned. She wanted to get some more studying done before their Grimm Studies exam tomorrow.

The heiress sat down at her desk, pulling her notes from her bag. She looked over them in focus, reading every word over.

This had become her routine when an exam was coming up. Sleep, eat, class, study. Rinse and repeat.

She had been studying for about 10 minutes, when she realized something felt rather off.

Ruby wasn't in the room yet.

Usually, there was a 5 minute buffer between Weiss entering the room to study for an exam and Ruby walking in to study with her partner. But today, the cloaked reaper was nowhere in sight.

Weiss found this odd enough to warrant a search for her partner. She rose from the desk, notes still strewn about on the table, and headed out the door.

She walked down the hall to check the bathroom for the dorm hall. Walking inside, she didn't even have to call the name of her leader to know that she was there.

Ruby's cloak was draped over one of the stall doors, and Weiss could hear quiet sniffles.

Weiss knocked gently on the door to the stall.

"Ruby? Are you doing ok?" the heiress asked tentatively, not wanting to upset her friend any more than she already was.

"W-Weiss! No, everything's fine. I'm just-" Ruby started, but was cut off by Weiss.

"Ruby, what's wrong?" Weiss asked her partner, seeing through the obvious lie.

"W-why would a-anything be wrong? I said I was doing fine" the reaper lied again, getting a bit nervous at the sudden interrogation.

"No, you're not fine. You're crying. The last time you cried was when you thought I was leaving Beacon for good" Weiss said. "Can you open the door so we can talk?" the alabaster-haired girl asked.

"No!" Ruby said much too quickly. "I-I mean, I'm kind of a mess, and I don't want you to see me like this. A leader should be stable in front of her-" Ruby was cut off once more.

"Ruby, you and I both know you don't believe that. Please, just open the door so I can talk to you" Weiss said gently, now getting a bit upset with her partner.

There was no response for what seemed like a crushing eternity, when it was only just a few seconds.

There was some shuffling in the stall, and the door clicked open.

Weiss was not expecting what she saw.

The first thing she noticed was the blood. It was all over the rim of the seat. The second thing was the almost ashamed look on Ruby's face. The third was that Ruby was hiding something.

The younger girl was holding something behind her back, not wanting to let Weiss see exactly what she was doing.

"Ruby" Weiss started shakily, "w-what are you holding?"

"N-nothing! It's, um, a-a pencil!" Ruby stammered her lie, mentally kicking herself for saying something so stupidly unbelievable.

"Ruby, please turn around" Weiss spoke, almost in a whisper.

She didn't want to be right, but she was.

In Ruby's hand was a bloody razor.

Her left arm was a crisscross of cuts, slowly seeping blood down her hand and dripping off her fingers.

Weiss's eyes widened in shock. She grabbed Ruby's arm to inspect the damage.

Ruby winced with slight pain. Tears were sliding down her cheeks in shame, head hung low so that her partner couldn't see her expression.

"Ruby, I'm not mad at you for this, but please, tell me why you did this" the white-haired girl calmly said, surprising Ruby with how well she was taking this.

"I-I'm not sure if I can…" Ruby responded so quietly that Weiss wasn't sure if she heard it.

Ruby was surprised a second time when her partner pulled her into a sudden hug. Weiss's arms wrapped around her protectively, the heiress herself now sniffling and trying to hold back her own tears.

"W-Weiss?" Ruby stammered.

"Don't. I know what you're going to try to say. You're going to try to give me an excuse, a reason I should think that this is nothing. But nothing you can say can make me believe that" Weiss said in a quiet, wavering voice. She began to tremble a bit, clutching her partner closer to her.

Ruby recognized Weiss' actions. Yang had reacted the same way when she had found out.

Their height difference was apparent. Weiss, who had at first been slightly shorter than her scythe-wielding partner, had grown just a little since they had teamed up a year and a half ago. Ruby was now being held against the other girl's shoulder, and the sensation was oddly comforting.

Ruby's reaction was slow, but eventually she returned the hug she was receiving, her façade of stability now crumbling into dust as she openly wept on the heiress's shoulder. Weiss rubbed her partner's back in circles, attempting to help the younger huntress-in-training calm down.

They stayed like that for an amount of time that neither girl knew, too concerned with each other to care. Their moment was interrupted by another girl walking in on the fragile scene.

"Weiss? Ruby? Are you guys in here?" Yang's voice rang out, but dropped to a whisper mid-sentence as she saw the blood.

Weiss's pristine white jacket was now dark red on the right, stained with Ruby's blood. The heiress was certain it had leaked through and ruined her shirt, but she couldn't care about her clothing now, even if she wanted to.

Yang left the room, allowing Ruby and Weiss as much time as they needed. The blonde jogged to the Team RWBY dorm, grabbing a First Aid kit, and jogged back to the entrance of the bathroom.

When the sniffles finally died down, she re-entered, kit tucked under her arm.

Several minutes later, Ruby had bandages around her arm, already turning an almost unnoticeable pink.

Yang didn't say anything to her half-sister. She had talked to Ruby about this before. She was more worried about what Weiss would think about all of this.

"Weiss, can we talk for a bit?" the brawler asked, gently pulling her teammate to the side.

"Sure. Ruby, you go ahead and lie down. We'll be right behind you in a bit" Weiss said, gently hugging her leader once more before letting go entirely and watching the broken girl walk back to their dorm.

Weiss turned to Yang when their leader was out of sight.

"I know what you're thinking, and the answer is no. This isn't the first time this has happened" Yang said, a quiet tone in her voice that few people would ever hear.

"I-it's not?" Weiss stammered, surprised by the fact that she was indeed going to ask that question.

"No. This has been happening for years. I thought she had finally stopped when she was accepted to Beacon, but I guess not" Yang responded, looking down to the floor.

Yang was ashamed of herself. She didn't notice the signs popping up again until it was too late. She had broken her promise to herself, that she wouldn't let it get this far again.

"What _was_ all that, Yang?" Weiss asked gently, not wanting to step over any lines.

"Ruby," Yang started, pausing to try to find the right words, "Ruby isn't as happy as she lets everyone else believe." The blonde let the statement sink in for a second.

"What do you mean? She seems perfectly happy with everything" Weiss responded, confusion on her features.

"What I'm about to say doesn't leave this room, ok?" Yang asked in a calm, yet demanding voice.

Weiss simply nodded. The two sat in silence, Yang taking her time in choosing the words to say.

"About 10 years ago, Ruby's mom died. You already knew that. What you didn't know, was that she didn't die on a mission" Yang said carefully, not wanting to reveal too much of Ruby's personal issues. "Summer died while protecting Ruby" the blonde continued.

"You see, back then, Ruby and Summer didn't live with our dad and me. They lived about 30 minutes away, in a small village. That village didn't have its own team of huntsmen and huntresses protecting it. All they had was Summer. Everyone panicked when they saw Grimm close to the outer borders of the village, and all that did was entice even more Grimm" Yang spoke, recalling the tale with a somber tone.

"By the time Summer had gotten everyone's worries to die down a little, it was too late. The village leaders told everyone to evacuate the village, towards the town where dad and I lived. Summer stayed behind, and Ruby didn't leave like she was supposed to" the brawler paused, taking a few breaths.

"When Summer found her, Ruby was already battered and bleeding. She had been found by a Beowolf. Somehow, Ruby managed to kill the thing, or at least scare it off, by using a butter knife of all things" both girls chuckled a bit a the thought of Ruby scaring a Beowolf with a butter knife. The two fell silent after just a few seconds, a silence coming over them as Yang began to tell the rest of the tale.

"Ruby was barely conscious when she got to our house. We knew Summer didn't make it when we saw the cloak" Yang finished, relaxing now that the tale was done.

Silence fell over the two. Weiss stared at the floor, attempting to comprehend everything, when a realization hit her.

"Wait. If Ruby came back alone, then" she paused, eyes widening, and was cut off by Yang.

"She saw Summer die in front of her own eyes" the brawler confirmed.

The two stood there in silence once more. After letting it sit for a minute, Weiss's expression hardened.

"Yang, I promise you that I won't tell a single soul about this. I want to help her" the heiress said with determination.

Yang nodded, and the two girls left the bathroom for their dorm.

* * *

Ruby was on her bed when they arrived back in the dorm.

The young huntress sat up when her teammates entered the room. She quickly wiped her tears away, not wanting to bring any more attention to herself than she already had.

Weiss took off her now blood-stained jacket, and found that her earlier assumption was correct; both her jacket and shirt were stained red. Ruby immediately apologized.

"Ruby, this is not your fault. I hugged you, not the other way around. The only one to blame for my shirt being stained is me. Besides, I can easily get this out" Weiss said to her partner, no traces of annoyance in her voice whatsoever.

Ruby was surprised once again when Weiss hugged her, but was much faster in reacting this time. The young reaper returned the hug, nuzzling into Weiss's shoulder.

They separated once again, with Ruby missing the contact immediately.

For the first time in 10 years, Ruby felt the same comfort that she had from her own mother.

* * *

 **A/N:** PHEW! That was a long first chapter! I'll be writing a lot more over the weekends, possibly even putting out a chapter every week. Anyway, this story is far from over. This story is going to be about Ruby's journey through depression.

And before you ask, yes there will be some fluffy moments between Weiss and Ruby. After all, this IS a whiterose story.

See you all next chapter!


	2. Guilt

Thorns on a Rose

By Fatal Melody

 **A/N:** Hey all! I decided to re-write what I had previously posted as the second 'present' chapter, and included it in this one. I think it flows in a bit better, and makes more sense.

Anyway, the major story/plot thing of this chapter is based off of my own personal experience. Long story short, I disappointed someone important to me by ignoring my biggest problem.

Also, I'm not going to write any more 'past' chapters, and am actually removing the ones from this story. My plan is that, once I'm done with Thorns, I'll write that out as its own story, like a prequel.

Well, with all of that out of the way, enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, otherwise WhiteRose would've been made canon the moment Weiss and Ruby met up in Mistral.

* * *

 _"A few simple words can change someone's life. They can heal better than the best medicines, yet they can also cut deeper than the sharpest knife."_

 _-_ Fatal Melody

* * *

Chapter 2: Guilt

* * *

It had been a few days since the bathroom incident, and Ruby had just come back to the dorm from the shower, now dressed in her school uniform.

Weiss was sitting on her bed, now rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. As she stretched her arms up, she noticed the presence of her team leader. "Good morning, Ruby," the heiress greeted with a relaxed sigh, arms flopping down unceremoniously.

"Morning, Weiss!" the younger girl replied, putting on a smile.

"Ruby, stop." Weiss called out the smile, knowing the truth.

"S-stop what?" Ruby said, smile faltering a bit.

"The smile. You can't just ignore this anymore, Ruby. I think you should get some help with this," the white-haired girl replied, a look of concern on her face.

"I-I-I don't know what you mean," Ruby murmured, looking slightly away and a slight panic forming in her eyes.

"You don't have to hide it from me. Yang told me everything that night I found you in the bathroom." Weiss clarified.

Ruby looked back at her partner, a small amount of fear in her eyes.

"And even if you don't get help, I don't want you to act like this is nothing. You have all three of us here to help you through this, so you can talk to any of us if you need to." Weiss said, with an added ' _especially me_ ' in her head.

Yang suddenly sat up from her own bed, having been awake for the conversation.

"Weiss is kinda right, Rubes. You can talk to us." Yang spoke softly, sisterly care radiating from her tone.

Blake, who had already gotten out of bed a while ago and was reading a book in the corner, gave an affirmative "yep" and set her book down.

A single tear rolled off of Ruby's chin, hitting the carpet with a barely audible ' _pat_ '. Ruby was looking at the floor, and a wave of both sadness and relief washed over her. Weiss was quick to act, standing up and moving to hug the girl. Ruby quickly returned the hug, a few more tears soaking into Weiss' shoulder.

Weiss started rubbing small circles onto her partner's back, and suddenly Ruby was shaking, tears now coming from her eyes freely.

After a while, the two released each other and Ruby had stopped crying. The leader of RWBY started to wipe at her eyes with a tissue, and Yang had gotten out of bed to start her own round of hugs for her sister.

The morning continued as Weiss and Yang cycled through the shower and headed down to breakfast.

The team all sat down with their own personal preference for breakfast; an omelet for Blake, some French Toast for Yang, a breakfast sandwich for Weiss, and the ever-classic bacon, eggs, and toast for Ruby.

Weiss heard a snicker coming from behind them, followed by a voice she knew unpleasantly well.

"Well, looks like the lesbians have all come out of their little holes!" laughed Cardin Winchester. Weiss's forehead was marked by a tick, eyes closed in annoyance.

Ruby squeaked in surprise when Cardin leaned down and grabbed her shoulder. "C'mon, Rose! Let me show you how a man feels, instead of this frigid bitch!" he grinned creepily.

Weiss stood up, tossing Cardin's hand off of her partner's shoulder. "She is SO not interested!" the heiress yelled, catching the attention of quite a few people.

"Back off, cold-cunt! If little Rose here is gonna be a slut, she might as well be one for a man like me, not some prissy little twat!" Cardin yelled harshly, pushing the white-haired girl back an inch.

Weiss's eyes went a few shades colder in that moment as a mental barricade snapped in anger.

In an instant, Cardin was sent flying across the entire cafeteria hall, making a large crater in the wall he collided with.

Still dazed, Cardin slumped on the floor, holding his head, as Weiss walked over quickly with fire in her eyes.

Lifting her hand, Cardin was thrown back up against the wall, encased in a wall of ice. With a snap of her fingers, a spike formed at the man's throat. With another wave of her hand, a set of steps were made, leading up to the face of the trapped hunter-in-training.

Weiss walked up the steps with an eerie calmness, which was broken when she slammed her foot down on the last step, cracking the ice a little.

"You listen and you listen _well_ , asshat," Weiss began in quiet fury, "If you ever, and I mean _ever_ talk shit about Ruby again, I will _personally_ see to it that you are thrown into a pit of despair and suffering."

Cardin's eyes were wide with terror, and Weiss noticed a small pool of slightly yellow liquid pooling up within the ice.

"Am I clear?" Weiss asked, a sinister calmness in her voice.

After a moment of silence, save the whimpering of the student, Weiss's eyes hardened once more.

"Am. I. CLEAR!?" she shouted in his face, his head moving up and down rapidly.

"Good." The heiress said as she walked down the steps and snapped her fingers, the entre construct of ice disappearing without a trace.

Weiss came back to the table her team was occupying, sitting down with a huff of anger. Her three teammates looked at her with shock and amazement.

"What? He deserved it." Weiss said, going back to eating her sandwich.

As the noise of chatter began to rise back to normal levels, the tension in the atmosphere dissipated. Team RWBY soon finished their breakfast and made their way to their classes.

From there, the rest of the day went on as normal, except for when nobody wanted to spar against Weiss in Combat Training.

* * *

 _A few days later_

Ruby walked into the dorm as she usually does after classes, seeing Weiss already sitting down to study. Except something felt… off. Weiss wasn't actually studying, and no books were opened on the desk.

"Ruby, I think we should talk." Weiss said in a careful tone, not wanting to make it seem like Ruby was in trouble.

"T-talk about what, exactly?" Ruby asked, slightly afraid to know the answer.

"You haven't been yourself lately. And by that, I mean you're way too cheerful and happy. I know what's happening beneath all of that, and I really do think you should get some help." Wiess answered as Ruby shrank down a little.

"I'm fine, Weiss. I can handle this as long as I have you guys." Ruby said a bit nervously.

"Then show me your arms." Weiss responded, knowing something was off.

Ruby froze. Weiss closed her eyes and shook her head, reaching for Ruby's left arm. The younger girl instinctively pulled back, but Weiss managed to get a hold of it. Noticing her partner wince, she knew all she needed to.

"Ruby, this isn't healthy. I know it might take away some of the pain, but in the end, it's just forming bad habits. You can't keep doing this to yourself." Weiss gently told her partner, releasing the arm.

Ruby stared down at the ground in silent shame, not wanting to face her partner.

"You need help, Ruby. I know someone who can help you with this, and I'll be with you every step of the way. You just need to take the first step." Weiss continued.

"It's not that easy." Ruby said quietly.

"I know it isn't, Ruby. Nothing is ever easy when it's personal like this." Weiss attempted to comfort her partner, but her hand was pushed away rather suddenly.

Ruby looked up, tears welling up in her eyes. "No, Weiss, you don't know! You don't know what it's like to live with the guilt of getting your _own mother killed_!" Ruby shouted, a sudden change in character.

Weiss' eyes went wide with surprise and fear at the sudden change. "I-I was just trying to hel-" she began, but was cut off by Ruby.

"Yeah, just trying to help! I know! But maybe I don't _want_ help with this!" Ruby yelled, tears spilling over.

Weiss felt a wave of anger at how stubborn her partner was being. "Ruby, what is wrong with you?" Weiss asked, raising her voice a bit.

"You! You're what's wrong! You think you know how to help me, when your whole life everything has been given to you on a silver platter!" Ruby shouted and her partner.

"If you honestly think that, then maybe you ARE the immature little child I thought you were!" Weiss yelled, immediately regretting her words. Slapping her hands over her mouth, her eyes widened into those of shock.

Ruby's eyes went wide, and the yelling stopped.

"R-Ruby, I-" Weiss began, but was interrupted when Ruby sprinted out of the dorm in tears, bumping past Yang and Blake, who had heard the fight from around the corner.

Yang and Blake both walked into the room at that point, both also shocked at the outcome of the fight.

"I just fucked up, didn't I" Weiss said, tears falling from her eyes.

"Yeah, you fucked up really bad, princess" Yang replied, still in shock.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, there's that! Hopefully that all meshed together better than what I had before.

See you all next chapter!


	3. Staring at the Stars

**A/N:** SURPRISE UPDATE!

Firstly, I'd like to say that I'm writing this WAY sooner than even I anticipated, so yeah. Really fast update. Probably because I really want to see how my own cliffhanger resolves…

Regardless, we broke 100 favorites! Never in my LIFE did I ever think I'd make ANYTHING that 100 people put a favorite or like on! This is a HUGE milestone for me, and I can't thank you all enough for this!

Now if only I could get paid to write these…

Oh well. I guess you can't win 'em all.

Anyway, I'd like to thank you all for the overwhelming support you've given this story. With 100 favorites and 176 follows, this is by far my most successful story. Like, ever.

Now, this chapter that you're about to read is going to be SUUUUPER fluffy. This is going to be the turning point for the whole fic, where things finally start to get a bit easier. No more awkward holes that I need to fill with conflict and backstory. Speaking of backstory, I'm probably going to re-write the explanation of how Summer died in the first chapter. Just kinda feels lackluster for me.

And a little bit of a personal update, I'm looking for a job! Even though this will mean less free time, I'll finally have some spending cash.

Now enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY. If I owned RWBY, then nothing bad would've ever happened in Volume 3.

* * *

 _"I found that with depression, one of the most important things you can realize is that you're not alone."_

-Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson

* * *

Chapter 3: Staring at the Stars

* * *

Even though only a single hour had passed since the fight, it felt like an eternity had gone by for Weiss.

Yang had suggested they let Ruby cool off and come back on her own, but Weiss was beginning to doubt she would.

But what was truly tearing Weiss apart was that she had broken her promise to the young leader.

" _Just know, that I am going to be the best teammate you'll ever have."_

The heiress had gone back on her words from a year ago. She had driven Ruby out of the room in frustration and anger, when all she wanted was to comfort and soothe the young huntress.

Having had enough, Weiss stood up from her bed. "I'm going to go find her." She said with hard determination, wanting nothing more than to make things right.

"Weiss, she'll come back on her own. Trust me. We just have to wait for her." Yang said in a half-assed attempt to convince the white-haired girl.

"I don't care. I'm done waiting, and right now she needs someone. She might not want to see me right now, but I'm not going to let her stay out on her own. Not after that." Weiss declared, guilt in her eyes.

A few seconds passed, silence filling the room.

Yang sighed, breaking the quiet, "Well, if we can't stop you, we might as well help you."

Blake nodded at the statement, already grabbing her black-white jacket.

Weiss smiled at the support her other teammates were giving, and together the three girls left their dorm, weapons in hand.

* * *

 _30 minutes later_

Team WBY had been searching around the campus for a while, and they were all starting to get concerned. Dark had fallen not too long ago, and the sounds of Grimm coming from deep within the Emerald Forest were starting to become noticeable.

"Maybe we should split up?" Yang suggested. "We'd cover a lot more ground that way."

Blake shrugged, not opposing the idea. Weiss thought it over in her head for a second or two, before nodding in agreement.

"You're right. We're not going to make any progress if we don't spread out." The heiress said.

At that, the three split up, agreeing that if they hadn't found anything within two hours, they would meet up in front of the courtyard fountain. Blake started heading towards the rear of the school, where she knew of several secluded and quiet spaces she would go to read undisturbed during the day. Yang went towards the courtyard, planning to start there and sweep around the sides.

Weiss, however, had a different idea. They had already searched the entire school, albeit not as thorough as her teammates were doing, and they hadn't come up with a single hint that Ruby had been there.

Going purely off of instinct, Weiss started walking in the direction of the Emerald Forest.

Weiss had been walking for around 20 minutes or so, when she noticed something off about some of the trees in the forest. Several of them were missing leaves on the branches near the ground, as if some great wind had blown them off.

Kneeling to the ground, the reason was obvious. Lying half under a fallen leaf, was a single rose petal.

Weiss picked up the small petal and knew she was on the right track. She stood back up from her kneeling position and began following the trail of leafless trees.

After walking for several minutes, she started to recognize some of her surroundings; the clearing that Ruby had gotten directly in front of Weiss during an attack, causing her to set a tree ablaze. The blackened tree still stood, its branches still bare and dead.

A little farther along the path, she saw the podiums in the distance, where both her team and team JNPR met up and were chased by a Nevermore and a Deathstalker. It was also where Weiss saved Ruby's life. All of the massive feathers had since disappeared, dissolving into shadows when the giant bird was killed.

At this point, she knew where Ruby had gone.

Not two minutes later, Weiss' suspicions were confirmed. After following a trail of rose petals, she came face to face with the temple ruins, where Team RWBY had overcome their first ever challenge together.

And sitting at the edge of the now missing bridge to the rest of the ruins, was a small red ball.

Weiss slowly and calmly approached her teammate, not wanting to startle the young woman.

Reaching the drop-off, she sat down next to Ruby, legs dangling off the shattered stone edge.

Silence hung over the two for a second, until Wiess began to talk.

"The stars are really beautiful out here, without all of the light coming from Vale." The heiress stated, leaning back and staring up at the star-filled sky. There wasn't any light pollution this far into the woods, and one could see nebulas and galaxies in the darkness.

After several more seconds of silence, Weiss gathered her thoughts.

"Ruby, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I should've just let it go." Weiss began, nervousness creeping up her spine.

"And you were right. I don't know anything when it comes to losing the people you love." Ruby shifted slightly at this, a sign that she was at least listening.

"But I do know that what I did was stupid and wrong. And if you can't forgive me for it, I'll understand. I don't think I can ever forgive myself for breaking my promise to you." Weiss finished, drawing her knees to her chest.

Ruby didn't respond at first, another silence taking hold in the air, but after a few moments, Weiss heard something that gave her the biggest feeling of relief in her life.

"I'm sorry too." Ruby whispered, just barely audible. Her voice was small, as if she had been afraid to speak at all.

A small smile hit Weiss' face, and she turned toward her partner, arms open. "BFF hug?" Weiss asked hopefully. The response wasn't what she was expecting.

Ruby launched herself into Weiss' arms and began crying without holding back, the two girls rolling onto the grass just behind them.

Weiss, after getting over the shock from the sudden action, sat back up with her partner and started to rub circles on Ruby's back. A few tears of her own slid down her face in relief.

The two sat there for a while, neither knowing just how long.

Ruby's sobs eventually diminished into small hiccups and sniffles, her cheeks and Weiss' shoulder soaked and stained with tears. The heiress smiled, but her relief was soon interrupted by a feeling of worry. "Ruby, I need you to get up, ok?" Weiss asked gently, feeling her partner nod her head against her shoulder. Slowly the two stood up, Weiss brushing grass off of both her skirt and Ruby's cloak.

She reached into her pocket, and checked the time.

"Oh no." Weiss commented as she pressed the power button on her scroll.

There were 54 missed messages, 26 missed calls, and the time was 11:46; two and a half hours after the time she was supposed to be back.

"W-what's wrong?" Ruby asked in a timid voice.

"Well, nothing is wrong _yet._ But your sister is probably going to kill me when we get back…" Weiss said, a grim expression on her face.

"Why would she want to kill you?" the young woman said, this time a little more confident with speaking.

"We were supposed to meet up at the fountain if we didn't find you after two hours." Weiss started, "which was supposed to be two and a half hours ago…"

Weiss opened her text messages. The most recent one, from over an hour ago, was from Yang.

" _If you aren't back in the room by tomorrow morning, we're going to send a search party for you."_

Ruby looked over Weiss' shoulder at the screen. "We should probably get going…" the younger girl spoke up, sounding a little more put together than before.

Weiss nodded, and the two set off for Beacon.

* * *

 **A/N:** I hope you all enjoyed that!

More will come out soon! I'm starting to get back into a groove, and with that I'll have a more concrete time for me to mess around, play games, and write stories!

Oh! Also, I'm going to be starting a collection of random One-shots soon. Just something to work on whenever I have a writer's block for this story.

See you all next chapter!


	4. A Sister's Troubles

**A/N:** Hey all!

So, I'd like to clear a few things up with you all, just to avoid confusion.

Right now, I'm going through one of the hardest decisions of my entire life. College isn't what I thought it would be, but I really want to at least get my certifications before I leave. The decision I face is whether or not I want to stay past that.

I'm outright failing Trigonometry, and I just can't bring myself to care about my English class anymore. I just feel like I'm being fed the same stuff from High School all over again, and I really don't find it worth my time or money. I think that once I finish with my certifications, I'll probably just withdraw and start working somewhere.

Part of this is because I've lost myself over the last few months. Between my sister getting married this summer, my grades dropping, and the pressure of having to focus on life and college at the same time, it's just all getting to me in a way I never expected. At first, college was nice, a break from the norm and something I was genuinely interested in. Now, I just can't push past having to deal with the same core classes for the 9th time in a row.

I just needed to get that off my chest, and I'll be meeting with my advisor about a plan for this. It's obvious that I'm not cut out for this kind of system, and I'd rather be doing something with myself instead of sitting in a room for 2 hours every day learning absolutely nothing. I'll probably still take a few classes here and there, but only classes I'm genuinely interested in taking.

Anyway, enough with the serious stuff.

This chapter is just kinda filler until I figure out how to progress further. It's taken a lot out of me to just write sometimes, but I genuinely still love to do this. Writing is my second favorite way of self-expression, and my favorite is singing.

Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Thorns on a Rose

Chapter 4: A Sister's Troubles

 _1 hour and 40 minutes after the group separated_

Yang was beyond worried.

She had swept up and down the entire school at this point, and not even a sign of her sister was found.

Blake had met up with her at the fountain as promised, albeit 20 minutes early.

"No sign of her?" Blake asked as she approached.

"Nothing. I'm guessing you had similar luck?" Yang responded. Blake simply nodded her head.

Yang hung her head low in disappointment. Blake was quick to notice the blonde's emotions.

"Don't worry, Yang. I'm sure we'll find her soon. She can't have gone _too_ far. After all, it's not like she'd want to give up on her dream just because of something like a simple fight." Blake reassured her partner to the best of her abilities.

"You're right, but I'm still really worried about her. It's getting late, and there are a lot of Grimm around the area this time of year." Yang said, looking out towards the Emerald Forest.

"I just hope she didn't do anything stupid…" the blonde sighed.

Silence fell over the two, a good half hour passing.

"Man, where is she? It's already 10 minutes after the time we agreed on and she's nowhere in sight." Yang commented.

"Well, it's certainly out of character for her to be late, that's for sure." Blake agreed.

"You don't think she left campus, do you?" Yang asked.

"It's possible. After all, we didn't exactly set any boundaries." Blake answered.

The two waited for Weiss for another 20 minutes, until Yang decided it wasn't worth it to wait at the fountain any longer. At this point, Yang had already sent her several texts and called many times. None had a response.

"When she comes back, she'll know to head back to the dorm by now." Yang reasoned, not wanting to think that anything bad had happened to another person that she considered a sister.

Blake nodded in agreement, and together they headed back to the dorm.

When they reached their room, Yang once more pulled out her scroll. Typing in the number, she held the device to her ear and called Weiss one more time.

She felt her heart drop when she was instantly sent to voicemail.

"She's either not in service, or her scroll died." Yang said. She tossed her scroll onto Blake's bed and fell backwards onto the mattress next to where her partner was sitting, bouncing them both a little in the process.

Blake noticed the concerned expression on the blonde's face.

"Yang, I'm absolutely certain that they're fine. Weiss has her weapon, and Ruby's no pushover when it comes to kicking things." Blake tried, but the concern wouldn't leave Yang's features.

"I know they're able to defend themselves, but I'm still worried. Weiss hasn't ever gone silent before, and the last time Ruby ran away like this she almost got herself killed." Yang replied, brows furrowing a bit.

A few minutes passed, and Yang was tired of waiting. Noticing this, Blake put her book down and stood up.

"How about we go for a walk? Might help clear your head a bit," the faunus suggested. Yang nodded slowly, picking herself up from the mattress. The two left the building at a slow walking pace.

They walked in silence for several minutes, before they reached the fountain again. Yang decided to sit down and look up at the stars. Blake soon joined her, taking the spot to Yang's left.

"You know, Ruby and I used to do this all the time when we were kids. Just sitting outside at night, staring at the stars." Yang said, recalling memories from her childhood.

"Of course, there was a whole lot less light pollution out in Patch," the blonde continued.

Blake checked the time on her scroll. The screen displayed 10:32 PM.

Yang, who looked over at the light coming from the screen, began to worry again. "It's already been over an hour…"

Blake knew better than to try to convince Yang that she shouldn't worry. She'd continue to have concerns no matter what Blake did or said, so it was useless to try. Instead, she simply put an arm on the blonde's shoulder.

The two sat in silence for a moment, when Yang finally spoke again.

"You know, I always thought it'd be me that pushed her just a little too far." The blonde commented.

"How did you figure that?" Blake asked, slightly confused.

"I guess I was the only one who really ever pushed her until Weiss came along. Get her out of the comfort zone and try to help her." Yang continued.

Blake nodded in understanding.

"A few years after Summer died, I tried to get her to go to the carnival once." Yang started, memories flowing through her mind. "You can imagine how upset she was with me when there was a massive crowd there." A few seconds of silence passed.

"I managed to get her to ride the carousel after like 20 minutes and an entire box of cookies." Yang chuckled, the image of a small, 10-year-old Ruby holding an entire box of cookies. "I'd never seen her smile so wide before. She looked like a normal little girl, having fun at the carnival with her big sister. After that she wanted to do everything there, and Dad almost ran entirely out of money from all the games she played." Yang had a smile on her face, looking up at the stars with nostalgia.

"Sounds like you had a lot of fun." Blake commented, a small smile appearing.

"It was the most fun we've ever had. The only time I've seen her smile more than that was when Weiss finally agreed to go with her weird team bonding ideas." Yang laughed.

The two were interrupted by the distant howl of a Beowolf in the Emerald Forest.

"We should probably go back inside…" Blake said, noticing the concern on her partner's face.

Yang nodded after a moment of hesitation. The two stood up from the fountain, heading back to the dorm.

They walked into the lobby of the dorm building, a small common area for the students to meet up and hang out. Beacon had no formal Rec center, so each dorm building had its own area for it.

Yang walked over to the plush couch in the corner, plopping down unceremoniously. Blake sat down next to her in a much more controlled fashion.

After a few moments, Yang spoke up.

"You know how I said this reminds me of last time she ran away?" the blonde asked her partner.

Blake nodded, a bit concerned with where Yang was headed with the conversation.

"Last time it was all my fault." Yang said quietly.

"She was 13 when it happened. It was the middle of Spring, and we got into an argument about which was better, chocolate or peanut butter." Yang recalled in detail.

"Eventually it devolved into a more personal argument." Yang took a moment to recall.

"I started it, I think. I told her she was weird because she liked eating peanut butter alone at recess. She got upset that I basically called my own sister a loner." Yang scoffed lightly at the thought.

"She took it personally when I said that I didn't see her ever hanging out with any friends. I told her she just needed to get out of her shell and smile more at people, but she got mad at me. Kinda like how she got mad at Weiss for just wanting to help. Ruby was always like that after Summer died. Never wanted help from anyone but gave it to everyone she could."

"Anyway, we started yelling at each other. Got kinda nasty. After about a minute she crossed a line that nobody ever should."

Yang took a few moments to collect her thoughts. The sudden silence confused Blake.

"What did she do?" the Faunus asked.

"She called me a whore."

Blake was immediately shocked.

"We're still talking about Ruby, right?" the cat-girl asked confused, unable to picture Ruby screaming at Yang for any reason.

Yang simply nodded.

"That one caught me off guard too. She crossed a line then, and I let her know immediately. I still regret ever reacting that way, but I called her a burden on everyone. I told her all she was doing was taking up space. That she shouldn't be there. I still haven't forgiven myself for that." Yang said sadly.

Blake took in the information, eyes widened. She couldn't see Yang saying that to anybody, much less Ruby, any more than she could see Weiss suddenly deciding to join the circus as a naked contortionist.

"Yeah. I basically did the same thing Weiss did. Smacked my hand over my face and tried to take it back, but the damage was done. She used her semblance at full power and nearly blew all the windows out. Took us 3 hours to find her, and when we did she wasn't looking good." Yang paused.

"We found her in a fight with 3 Beowolves. Her left arm was shredded, three long cuts from the claws from her shoulder to her elbow. I'm still not even sure how she survived that long without a weapon. Me, being me, charged in without hesitation to protect her. The Beowolves didn't seem to want to bother with us, though, and they just ran. I'd like to think I scared them off, because I was _really_ mad." Yang continued.

Indeed, a furious Yang Xiao Long is one of the most frightening things one can witness.

"Anyway, after that Ruby and I made up. We forgave each other and realized we had said some pretty stupid things. She and I haven't had an argument like that ever since." Yang finished.

Blake sat there, speechless.

"Yeah. I know it seems wrong considering how we are now, but back then she was, for lack of better term, volatile. She'd explode at the smallest of things. She wasn't happy, and she wasn't stable." Yang said.

Blake opened her mouth to reply. Just as she drew a breath, the doors to the lobby opened.

Ruby and Weiss had returned.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hope you liked it! This was actually just a bit longer than my usual chapters, surprisingly. I hope the little backstory bit wasn't too out of character for them, but I thought it would do well in the story I'm trying to tell.

Well, I'll see you all next chapter!


	5. Taking the First Step

**A/N:** Hey everyone!

First off, I'd like to thank you all for getting this story to 200 followers! It really means a lot to me to see something I've made get this much popularity!

Since I started writing this story, my life has changed a lot. I met new friends, lost old ones, and took my life into my own hands. I've made decisions based on what I want, not what others want for me. I've put myself before others more, and honestly, it's one of the best things I've ever done. I'm so much happier with where I am now than where I was just a year ago.

Back to the point, this story is part of the reason I'm in a better place. Just being able to get my emotions out there is a huge help in beating my depression. I encourage anyone going through depression to take that first step and talk to someone, _anyone_ , about what's going on in your head. It helps.

Also, life update, it's spring now which means allergies. My life is now a living hell of tissues and BreatheRite strips.

Anyway, I'm happy to get back to writing so soon after the last chapter was posted. Usually it takes me like a month to figure out where things are going to go, but I have a pretty clear idea as to where this story is going for now. Maybe later that will change, but this chapter is something I've wanted to do since the beginning.

One more thing, I found out that it's not illegal to have a for writing this stuff! It counts as a donation rather than me getting paid! I know it's kinda stupid to do something like this, but if you really feel like supporting me, just come visit my page. You don't have to pledge or anything, just tell more people about me and check out the page!

FatalMelody

Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Thorns on a Rose

Chapter 5: Taking the First Step

Ruby and Weiss walked into the lobby of the dorm building, secretly hoping Yang and Blake were sleeping in their dorm.

Both girls gave the appropriate deer-in-the-headlights response when they came face to face with their teammates.

Ruby began to fear for her life when Yang stood up, a less than pleased expression on her face. The brawler walked towards her sister, each step coming slightly faster than the last.

Ruby wasn't expecting one of her sister's infamous bone-crushing hugs.

Nor was she expecting the tears.

"Don't you DARE scare me like that again!" Yang said loudly, voice shaking slightly.

Ruby, struggling to breathe, shakily returned the death-squeeze.

They spent a while like that. They separated when Blake cleared her throat quietly. The two sisters, now both smiling, turned to their faunus teammate.

"As adorable as that was, it's getting really late." Blake said, holding up her scroll. The screen read 1:55 in blue numbers.

The team went to their room and started their nightly routines. The team was at peace once more, and the lights were turned off.

 _3:15 AM_

Weiss woke up to the sound of shuffling covers and quiet whimpering.

The noise was coming from the bed suspended directly above her.

Weiss got out of her bed, peering over the edge of Ruby's to check on the girl.

A sheen of cold sweat was on her face, which carried a disturbed expression.

Weiss, deciding she didn't much care for seeing her partner like this, took matters into her own hands.

"Ruby." Weiss whispered gently, poking her leader.

"Ruby, wake up!" She continued, shaking the girl's shoulder lightly.

Ruby sat up, gasping for air. Frightened silver eyes locked onto calming ice-blue ones.

"Weiss?" Ruby asked quietly.

"It's ok. It was just a nightmare." Weiss comforted the girl. Tears began to pool underneath bright silver, threatening to spill.

Ruby slid off of the bed and hugged her partner tightly, which was quickly reciprocated.

Weiss felt Ruby's shoulders shake, hushed sobs escaping from the young leader.

Sitting down on her own bed, Weiss began to rub small circles onto Ruby's back.

Weiss didn't know how long she was like that, but by the time she noticed Ruby had calmed down, she found herself holding her leader, who was dead asleep.

The heiress smiled to herself and pulled back her own covers. She knew there was no way she was getting the silver-eyed huntress back into her own bed.

With her best friend clinging to her in her sleep, Weiss found herself quickly joining her partner in the world of dreams.

 _10:47 AM_

Ruby woke up holding the softest, most comfortable pillow in the world. It was warm, silky, and moving up and down slowly.

' _Wait… MOVING?!'_ Ruby panicked, shooting her head off of her "pillow".

She found herself staring straight into icy-blue orbs.

"Good morning, Ruby." Weiss greeted gently.

Ruby was frozen in place, unable to comprehend the situation. She blinked at Weiss in an attempt to communicate her confusion.

"What?" Weiss asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Why am I in your bed?" Ruby asked after a while.

"You had a nightmare last night, so I woke you up and hugged you for a while. You fell asleep on me, and I wasn't going to try to put you back into your own bed, so you slept here." Weiss explained nonchalantly, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Ruby chewed on the information for a second, before a slight blush spread on her cheeks.

"Thanks for waking me up, then," Ruby said quietly, a small smile on her face.

Weiss returned the smile and gave Ruby a quick hug before getting out of her bed.

Their morning routines went as usual, and the two girls went to have a late breakfast.

Many were confused as to why Weiss and Ruby showed up to the cafeteria in their pajamas at 11:00 in the morning, but others simply shrugged it off as team RWBY's usual shenanigans.

Cardin Winchester stared at the heiress in anger, the humiliation from last week playing over in his head. He got up from his seat angrily, walking towards the white-haired girl.

Weiss only had to flash an angry glare for him to stop in his tracks and re-think his decision.

"So where are Blake and Yang today?" Ruby asked.

"They said they were going into Vale, but I don't know for what." Weiss answered as she ate her omelet.

Ruby shrugged and ate her own food, a plate of waffles.

"They did say they'd be out for a good while though, so I don't think they're coming back anytime soon." The Heiress continued.

The two ate in relative silence after that, finishing their food and heading back to the dorm.

Ruby had time to think to herself during the walk and used it to think about what Weiss had said to her after that day in the bathroom.

" _You can't just ignore this anymore, Ruby. I think you should get some help with this."_

Ruby though hard about that. She wanted to get better, that was certain, but she'd wanted that for the last 3 years and hadn't been able to figure out how.

"-by. Ruby, are you okay?" Weiss asked, pulling her leader from her thoughts.

"What?" Ruby replied, confused.

"You were staring out into nothingness for a while, and you had this really blank expression." Weiss said.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking." Ruby answered, shaking her head slightly.

The two continued their walk. They reached their dorm and entered in silence.

After a few minutes of quiet, Ruby broke the silence.

"Weiss, I need to talk to you about something." Ruby said.

"Sure? I mean, I'm really the only one here to talk to right now…" Weiss commented.

Ruby took on a thoughtful expression for a few moments and continued.

"I was thinking earlier, about what you said last week. About getting help." Ruby started.

Wiess' eyes lit up slightly.

"I think I do need some help. I've been trying for a long time to get myself out of this, but it doesn't seem like I'll ever be able to do this alone." Ruby finished, looking at her partner for a reaction.

She definitely wasn't expecting a hug.

"W-Weiss?!" Ruby stuttered, blushing at the sudden contact.

"That's really mature, Ruby. I said it yesterday, but I know it's not easy dealing with personal stuff like this." Weiss replied.

Ruby returned the hug, and the two stayed like that for a few moments.

The two pulled apart, and Weiss turned to the desk and pulled her laptop, sent to her by her father earlier that year, and typed a name into the search bar.

"I have a… friend who I know can help you with this." Weiss said, clicking on the link.

A page came up, showing a woman in her mid-40's. The name read Dr. Lyra Kai, PhD in Psychology.

"Lyra is a great person. She's helped a lot of people with depression and survivor's guilt, and I'm certain she can help you get on the right track." Weiss continued, looking to her partner for input.

After a few moments, Ruby came up with a question. "How do you know I can trust her?" she asked skeptically.

"She… helped me. About 7 years ago." Weiss answered shyly, not wanting to tell the story.

"You went to a psychologist?" the scythe-wielder asked.

"Th-that's not the point. What matters is that she's a great psychologist, and she's located in Vale so we don't have to look anywhere else." Weiss changed the subject, avoiding the matter.

Weiss pulled out her scroll and went through her contacts. Tapping on one, she pressed 'call'.

The scroll rang a few times, before the gentle voice of a woman came through. "Weiss? This isn't out scheduled call time, is something wrong? Is your anxiety getting worse again?" the woman asked in a concerned tone.

Weiss' eyes widened slightly. The secret was out. "N-no, I'm not having any attacks, but there's someone I want you to meet. When and where could we meet you for, say, lunch?" Weiss asked.

"Oh, I'm free all of tomorrow. That would be a great time! And how about that little café you showed me a few months ago? At around noon?" Dr. Kai answered.

"That sounds great, Lyra! We'll see you then!" Wiess replied, smiling.

"I can't wait to meet your friend!" Lyra said, hanging up.

"You have anxiety?" Ruby asked.

Weiss cringed slightly at the question.

"Well, my childhood wasn't exactly filled with love and attention, and because of that I get nervous meeting new people." Weiss explained.

Ruby nodded, seeing how that could be.

The rest of the afternoon was filled with Ruby and Weiss messing around on the internet, looking at cat pictures and dumb videos.

* * *

 **A/N:** I hope you all liked that one! Took me a bit, but hey, that's life! Hopefully I can update more often like this, because I enjoy getting content out to you guys.

See you all next chapter!


End file.
